Shoe construction



May 22, 1951 A; VIGORITH SHOE CONSTRUCTION 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed July 51949 INVENTOR.

May 22, 1951 A. VIGORITH SHOE CONSTRUCTION Filed July 5, 1949 2Sheets-Sheet 2 flnfhony Vigorif/z INVENTOR.

Patented May 22, 1951 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 2,554,075 SHOECONSTRUCTION Anthony Vigorith, Cincinnati, Ohio Application July 5,1949, Serial No. 103,105

This invention relates to a shoe construction, and has referenceparticularly to soft forms of shoes such as moccasins or moccasin-typechildrens shoes having relatively light or soft flexible soles.

An object of the invention is to provide a shoe of the general characteroutlined above, which is highly simplified and consequently adapted forproduction at a fraction of the cost of other shoes in the samecategory.

Another object is to improve upon the construction of such shoes, withthe advantage attained of greatly enhancing the comfort of the shoe, andthe ability to properly support the foot and ankle of the growing child.

Another object is to provide a shoe of the class described, which is ofadvanced durability and serviceability notwithstanding its low cost andsimplicity of construction.

A further object is to provide a shoe which is constructed from aminimum number of parts easily and quickly assembled, with a substantialsaving of time, materials, and skilled labor.

Another object of the invention is to provide a novel method and meansof reinforcing the back of the shoe in the interests of comfort andproper support for the foot of the wearer.

The foregoing and other objects are attained by the means describedherein and illustrated upon the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. l is a plan view of a shoe body unit forming part of the presentinvention.

Fig. 2 is a plan view of a top panel which forms a detail of theinvention.

Fig. 3 is a plain view of the shoe sole.

Fig. 4 is a perspective view of a complete shoe embodying the parts ofFigs. 1, 2 and 3.

Fig. 5 is a fragmental cross-section taken on line -55 of Fig. 4. Y I

Fig. 6 is a vertical cross-section of the complete shoe, taken on themajor axis of the shoe.

The shoe of the present invention is an improvement over that of theVaisey Patent No. 2,385,743, issued September 25, 1945. The improvedshoe is advantageously modified structurally, as to the nature and thenumber of constituent parts involved in the manufacture, and in themanner of assembly, all of which has resulted in greater comfort andbetter support for the foot, in addition to other advantages previouslystated and hereafter to be pointed out. Provision has been made also forquickly and inexpensively incorporating a heel reinforcing member orback-stay when needed or desired, and in the region of the back-stay orheel portion of the shoe an improved mode of assembly ensures againstpinching, chafing or cramping of the wearers heel. A snug fitting of theshoe heel to the foot of the wearer is highly desirable, particularly ina shoe of the general type disclosed, wherein the heel portion usuallytends to assume a square or boxy configuration. As constructed, theimproved shoe of this invention is free of all structural limitationswhich tend to depreciate comfortable fitting to the foot.

Referring to the drawings, Fig. 4 depicts a shoe which in this instanceis a child's shoe, incorporating the improvements of the presentinvention. With minor changes of proportions, and the application ofsuitable heel lifts, the shoe readily may be adapted for adult usewithout departing from the invention and it is accordingly intended thatthe present invention shall apply to shoes for adults as well aschildren.

The shoe comprises the body unit indicated generally by the characterl2, the top panel I3, and the sole Id. The body unit is a stamping ofleather or other suitable material which is flexible and capable ofbeing shaped to form the major portion of the shoe upper. The curvedsubstantially semi-circular portion l5 forms the toe of the shoe, andthis portion may be perforated marginally as at It to facilitatestitching thereof to the vamp or toe portion I! of the top panel. Theportion ll may be perforated marginally as at It, to accommodate thestitching [9, (Fig. 4), for securing together the margins of parts I3and 82 in forming the complete toe of the shoe. This stitching may beperformed either by hand or by machine, although hand stitching isindicated upon the drawing.

The body unit I2 incorporates also the wings 26-26, which are integralparts of the unit and which furnish the sides and the back of the shoe.The forward portions 2 l2l of the wings may be perforated at 22 toreceive the usual laces which secure the shoe over the instep. The topedges 2323 extend rearwardly from the uppermost perforations 22 to meetone another at the back seam, indicated at M of Fig. 4. The back seam iscontinuous from the top of the shoe to the heel, and is formed by theabutting back seam edges 2525 of the body unit. Along the edges 2| and23, tapes or finish strips 26 may be applied by means of rows ofstitches 21, or otherwise, to finish and reinforce said edges. Thesetapes or strips will preferably meet at the back of the shoe.

To complete the description of the body unit l2 attention is directed tothe welt 28 of leather or other suitable material which is stitched at29 to the unit piece and placed thereon to substantially outline theshape of the shoe along the front and sides. At the rear, the tails30-36 of the welt turn outwardly in substantial parallelism with theback edges 2'525, resulting in the formation of the curves 3l-3|.Between these curves, and on the medial line of the unit piece l2, thematerial is cut away to form a notch having side edges 32-32 and aconnecting base edge 33. The length of the base edge approximates thecombined length of the sides edges 3232, so that the edges 32-32 may :beturned against the edge 33 in forming up the shoe, to provide the lowerextremity of 'the'back seam 24. The edges 333232 maybe cemented togetherat 34, or merely butted, (Fig. 6), to complete the joint at the heel andimpart thereto a smooth inner surface which will not afforddiscomforture to the wearers heel.

In forming up the shoe, the edge portions of the solid piece 52 of .Fig.1 are merely turned at the stitch row 29, and in a direction away fromthe observer, to dispose the welt 28 and the solid central portion 35 ina common plane, whereas 'the wings .2ll2!l and toe portion l aredirected margins .of the back edges 25-25 fall against the last, withsaid edges abutting, and the tails 3D3ll of the welt extend insubstantial parallelism (Fig. 4), terminating at the top edge 23 of theshoe upper.

The tongue 36., which is an integral part of top panel l3, of courserests upon the instep portion of the last, while the shoe is temporarilylaced over the last. The stitches 19 may be applied at this stage of theprocedure, or at any other appropriate stage, as may be considereddesirable or expedient.

After the shoe has been formed up as just explained, the sole 44 may beapplied. It may be noted that the sole has a tail 3'! integraltherewith, and which may be bent along a line such as 38 (Fig. 3), todirect the tail along the shoe back in coinciding relation with the welttails, as indicated upon Fig. 4. With the sole so disposed, it may bestitched or otherwise secured to the welt all the way around the shoeand up the back thereof. shown at 39.

Referring again to Fig. 4, it will be noted that a space 4!) existsbetween the ends of the welt tails at the top of the shoe back. Thisspace may accommodate a backstay or reinforcing member 4|, (Figs. 5 and6), which member may be in the form of a strip or ribbon of resilientmetal, plastic, or other suitable material. The

Stitching for this purpose is strip may have a curved lower end 42underlying the sole at the heel, and to keep the strip in this positionit may be cemented, or closed in ,at the top of the back by means ofstitching extending across both of the welt tails. As

shown, the strip is cemented within the space corporated therein. If thespace 40 is allowed to remain open at the top, which is desirable inmost instances, the support member or flexible strip 4| may be insertedand removed at the option of the user.

By referring to Fig. 5, it is readily evident that the back of the shoewill conform snugly to the heel of the wearer, lending full supportthereto and presenting no voids or hard seams to discomfort the foot.Where the joint is effected at 33 the inside of the shoe is smooth androunded, with butted edges featured throughout in the interests ofcomfort, simplicity, and appearance. An insole is not needed in a shoeconstructed as herein disclosed, due to the fact that the single unitarybody part l2 of Fig. 1 is of solid material Within the confines of thewelt 28.

Any type or kind of material suitable for shoe construction may be usedin making shoes in accordance with the present invention. For childrensshoes, a satisfactory leather for the sole illustrated by Fig. 3 wouldbe from 6 to 8%.; ounce weight, affording a relatively flexible softsole capable of being shaped and having good wearing qualities.

A somewhat lighter and softer leather, of 4 or 4 /2 ounce weight, can beused with satisfactory results in forming the top panel member of Fig. 2and the body unit of Fig. 1. Correspondin weights and thickness ofmaterial other than leather, having the necessary other qualities, maybe employed in fabricating the shoes, if desired. These and othermodifications, and structural changes within the scope of the appendedclaims, may be made without departing from the spirit of the invention.

.1 claim:

1. As a new article of manufacture, a shoe I body unit comprising asheet of material having a forward toe portion, opposite side portions,a

rear portion notched on a line substantially bisecting the toe portionto provide a pair of opposed rear edges, and a welt secured to a face ofthe sheet, said welt including a major loop portion confining a solidcentral area of the body unit sheet, and including also a pair of tailssecured against said sheet in substantial spaced parallelism with saidopposed rear edges of the body unit sheet.

2. As a new article of manufacture, a shoe body unit comprising a sheetof material having a forward curved toe portion, opposite side portions,a rear portion notched on a line substantially bisecting the toe portionto provide a pair of opposed rear edges, and a welt secured to a face ofthe sheet, said welt including a major p portion and a pair of tails,said tails resting upon the sheet in substantial parallelism with saidopposed rear edges of the body unit.

3. As a new article of manufacture, a shoe body unit comprising a sheetof material having a forward curved toe portion, opposite side portions,a rear portion notched on a line substantially bisecting the toe portionto provide a pair of opposed rear edges, and a welt secured to a face ofthe sheet, said welt including a major loop portion and a pair of tails,said tails resting upon the sheet in substantial parallelism with saidopposed rear edges of the body unit, and extending outwardly in oppositedirections from the notch aforesaid.

4. As a new article of manufacture, a shoe body unit comprising a sheetof material having of opposed rear edges, and a welt secured to a faceof the sheet, said welt including a major loop portion and a pair oftails, said tails resting upon the sheet in substantial parallelism withsaid opposed rear edges of the body unit, and extending outwardly inopposite directions from the notch aforesaid, said notch being definedby side edges and a base edge, the latter being approximately twice thelength of a notch side edge.

5. A shoe comprising in combination, an upper with opposed rear edgesand a welt secured to one face of the upper, said welt including a majorloop portion bounding a solid central planar area of the upper andincluding also a pair of tails secured against the upper in substantialparallelism with said opposed rear edges, an outer sole member having atail extending rearwardly thereof, and means securing the margins of theouter sole member to said major loop portion of the welt and securingthe tail of said sole member to the tails of the welt.

6. A shoe comprising in combination, a onepiece upper having a solidcentral sole portion, and opposed rear edges in abutment, a welt se- 6cured to one face of the upper, said welt including a major loop portionbounding said sole portion of the upper and including also a pair oftails secured against the upper in substantial parallelism with saidopposed rear edges, an outer sole member having a tail extendingrearwardly thereof, and means securing the margins of the outer solemember to said major loop portion of the welt and securing the tail ofsaid sole member to the tails of the welt, with the tails of the weltspaced apart at the rear of the shoe to provide a pocket space betweenthe sole tail and the abutting rear edges of the upper.

ANTHONY VIGORITH.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 2,412,051 Lee Dec. 3, 19462,420,466 Cordeau May 13, 1947 2,472,987 Rizzo June 14, 1949

